Day 6 - Berlin

Guten Morgen! Today was a super busy day, and unfortunately our last full day. After a delicious breakfast at the hotel, we made our way to Eastern Berlin to visit some of the alternative architecture of the area. With our tour guide Inez, we learned about a communal living and working complex. The buildings included many common spaces (even a historical boat bunker that is now a gathering space!), apartments of different sizes, offices, an environmentally sustainable outdoor pool, a kindergarten, and plentiful gardens. We were able to make some connections between their living situations and ours in the dorms and at home.

Continuing our walk, we visited Holzmarkt, a market where we saw lots of local and historical art, and smaller replications of the TV tower, showing how they reclaimed something negative into something positive. Holzmarkt has smaller shops, restaurant and coffee shops, and a playground with a fun slide we all went down! The market is another example of a cooperative business with community members working together to both build and maintain the space.

It’s the moment you all have been waiting for: our trip to the East Side Gallery! Before embarking on our walk, Megan provided us some fast facts which I (Reese) also connected to my own research from earlier this year. Allow me to lay out the details. The East Side Gallery is the longest portion of the original Berlin Wall still standing. It breaks yet another record by being the longest open-air street gallery in the world stretching 1.2 miles (AKA 1.3 kilometers). It officially opened on September 28th, 1990. A majority of the murals date back to 1990, and 118 artists have contributed from 21 different countries. In the early 2000s, the original artists were invited back to repaint their works as they suffered from exposure to the elements. Most of the artists returned to repaint them, but as for the pieces with artists who did not return, those sections of the wall were painted over in the original wall color as they had faded away too much.



The artworks depict many political themes, as has most of the art we have seen throughout our trip. The most famous mural being the Fraternal Kiss, depicting Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev kissing East German leader Erich Honecker. When we came together at the end of the gallery to reflect and discuss, we connected this mural to an earlier museum visit. The day prior, we saw the original photo of these leaders exchanging a greeting kiss on the cheek, which gave us context to this exaggerated depiction as a political statement. During this reflection period upon the stairs outside the Berlin Wall Museum, we also shared which piece most inspired, intrigued, interested, or surprised us, as well as if any connected to our research. From there we headed into the museum.





We then went to the Berlin Wall Museum, located right next to the East Side Gallery. The museum mainly displayed its information through videos featuring interviews with the people involved. It discussed the construction of the wall, the impact on the city of Berlin, the fatalities, the Cold War, and then the fall of the Berlin Wall. One section even detailed all three events of trading of spies on the Glienicke Bridge, which could be useful for my research on espionage in Berlin (Kalyssa). The portrayal through film made the learning feel much more intimate and personal, as we were listening to real people speaking about their experiences rather than reading about it on a poster. The museum presented extreme emotions of both sorrow and joy throughout the experience.



For lunch we went to a food hall located in a historical building. There were many options, all covering different cultures (shout out Madame Lamou :] ). We split up within the building and ordered from various places, and then found each other to still have a nice meal together. There was even a little ice cream stand that was very popular with our group! After lunch, to get to our next location, we unlocked a new form of transportation: the doubledecker bus!

The Documentation Center Museum for Forced Migration and Displaced People, which shares the story of past and current issues revolving around the displacement of people around the world, focused mainly on countries in Europe. We listened to recordings of refugees who overcame challenges to create a new life in Germany, learned about the various issues that can cause forced migration and displacement, explored the history of immigration, and more. The museum also had a special exhibition focusing on the migration and displacement of people in Germany, specifically about the period during and after World War II. This museum helped me (Tiffanie) realize the larger impact that forced migration and displacement has on a larger global scale, including influencing politics and beliefs of others in different countries. It also helped me realize how recent a lot of the history is, and how much of a developing issue it is, and how there are continual conversations regarding how to safely take care of people who have little to nothing, as well as how to properly reunite them with their homes.



Next stop was Checkpoint Charlie! Today it stands as a historically accurate reconstruction of the original checkpoint that was along the Berlin Wall. On outdoor murals, there was information regarding how the checkpoints work. Surrounding the checkpoint were souvenir shops that we popped in and out of. Heading off to dinner, we came across yet another souvenir shop with just what Tiff, Millie, Kalyssa, and I (Reese) were looking for. Ms. Ducharme graciously accompanied us as Tiff and Millie purchased their German soccer jerseys, Kalyssa her Ampelmann gummies, and my (Reese) dream Berlin sweatshirt (which I was very much grateful for later when stepping out of the dinner restaurant and into the cold winds).



Tonight we ate a traditional German dinner and enjoyed many laughs. With it being our last night together, we of course engaged in an extra fun round of Annie’s fun game: Psychologist. An overview of the rules: one or two people are sent away from the group and from there the group must decide on a rule to follow. Once the people return, they must ask a series of questions to each person at the table and the table must answer within the parameters of the rule. For example, the first word of their answers must be in alphabetical order or every other person must touch their nose after saying their answer. In the first round, Tiff and Millie were sent away and the rule decided on was that each person added a word onto the last person’s answer. So, the first person asked could only answer in one word, the second person 2 words, and so on until 5 words and then it would begin again. During the second round, Kylee and I (Reese) were sent away from the table and the group decided the rule was that their answers could not include the letter e. This round was our best yet as it extended from the restaurant to the tram back to the hotel.

The night ended with a bittersweet game of “Rose, Bud, Thorn” where everyone in the group shared the highlights, low lights (very few), and major takeaways from the trip, with only a few tears shed(lol). As the night winds down, we go back to a shared room, spend the last few moments abroad together, and get ready for the travels ahead. This group has made such a connection that will carry from this trip back to Rhode Island.

Kalyssa, Reese, Tiff